Beginning of November, I was back at ESB school (Ecole Supérieure du Bois), on the Nantes campus.
I really enjoy sharing this day with the final-year students, who are always highly motivated.
Together, we explored one question: what is innovation?
Rather than provide them with a ready-made definition of innovation, or impose my point of view in a top-down fashion, I preferred to include them in the reflection. Because, in the end, there are lots of different ways of looking at a definition, each one is just one aspect of the question, just like the individual facets on a disco ball.
We used a number of creative techniques to come up with several definitions of innovation.
Apart from the fact that we had a great time, it was interesting because we were able to go much further than our initial brainstorming! The creative constraints I gave them enabled them to dig deeper.
Having several definitions opened up our minds and perspectives. We were able to discuss our own relationship with innovation, the obstacles and constraints we may encounter, and even the ones we create for ourselves! We used and enhanced the collective intelligence of the group, taking everyone’s ideas into account.
We look forward to the next session! Not once have we come up with the same answers! Let’s connect and create your version of innovation in your company!